Module 4 Packet GE 4 The Contemporary World (TCW)

Module 4: Overview
Welcome to Module 4
This module hopes to inculcate in the students how various media drive countless forms of
global integration, the technological advances in a worldwide market economy have encouraged
the growth of global media companies, referred to as transnational media conglomerates. Also
this unit explains how globalization affects religious practices and beliefs.

Specifically, this unit hopes to familiarize the students with the concept of “global media
cultures” and Globalization of Religion.

Lesson 1

Learning Outcomes

a. analyze how various media drive various forms of global integration;

b. explain the dynamics between local and global cultural production;

c. exhibit the value of promoting unity in the midst of diversity

1. What is media?
2. What is media global cultures
3. How is media a driver of globalization and how does media

What is Media?
Media, the plural of medium, broadly describes all channels of communication, including
everything from printed paper to digital data. Media comprises news, art, educational content,
and any form of information that can reach or influence people, including television, radio,
books, magazines, and the internet.
Mass media refers to the news and information that reaches a large number of people,
while local media, e.g., newspapers, and regional television/radio stations, serves the
needs of the communities or urban areas in which they are located.
 Figure 1 from: https://www.storyboardthat.com/storyboards/richande/how-the-evolution-of-
media-from-traditional-to-new-media-shaped-the-values-

The Importance of Understanding Media in Today’s World

Media plays a key role in people’s everyday lives as it helps educate them and enables them to
keep track of the day-to-day news, both local and global. Media is the best platform for people
to get information about what’s happening worldwide and down the street.
By analyzing the information they receive, people can develop their own opinions about various
concepts and topics, while (in the best of all worlds) respecting the opinions of people who don’t
agree with them. The media is also extremely important in terms of education, as it helps
children and teenagers develop critical thinking by teaching them to consider more than one
point of view. The media also acts as a watchdog, investigating and reporting on government
misconduct.
In his book, “Understanding Media: Extensions of Man” published in 1964, Marshall McLuhan,
who was a media theorist at the University of Toronto, coined the phrase “the medium is the
message.” The concept behind the phrase is that the way society sends and receives
information is more important than the actual information. In other words, McLuhan’s premise is
that the form of the message, i.e., visual, print, musical, etc., influences how society perceives
that message.
In brief, McLuhan states that:
 it was not what we said, but the way we said it that mattered most

*This theory helps to explain why we communicate through more than one medium.”

 He did not mean that ideas (“messages”) are useless and do not affect people. Rather,
his statement was an attempt to draw attention to how media, as a form of technology,
reshape societies.
 McLuhan added that different media simultaneously extend and amputate human
senses.
  New media may expand the reach of communication, but they also dull the user’s
communicative capacities.

Media and Globalization

Media globalization is the production, distribution, and consumption of media products on a
global scale, facilitating the exchange and diffusion of ideas cross-culturally.
Globalization and media have been partners throughout history. They've created conditions by
which people can now imagine that they are part of a singular world.
There are five periods in the evolution of media and globalization :

 Oral communication

 Script

 Printing press

 Electronic Media

 Digital Media

Role of media in globalization

Mass media plays a vital role in the globalization process. Many people argue that media and
globalization go hand in hand. Boyle (2007) argues that this media has changed the way young
people spend more time online on social networks with a global reach.

Mass Media as a positive and negative force in globalization

McLuhan coined the term Global Village, referring to mass media mass as a force for positive
change in the world, that mass media breakdown barriers of understanding. Flew (2002)
suggests that media, through globalization has created a global popular culture. Through
television and the internet, global corporations (e.g. Starbucks, McDonald's) have spread a
globally identifiable culture. The Pluralist approach to the mass media argues that the media,
like society, has become more diverse; it offers greater variety and choice than ever before.
However, Fenton (1999) argues that global culture has led to the westernization of other
cultures. The mass media forces western cultural value (especially American) on non-western
countries. The mass media is damaging other cultures and promoting cultural homogenization,
where everything is the same.
Other negative notions of media and its role in globalization include the following:
 Corporate entities' a threat to democracy
 Lack of regulation - the internet is the wild west of information
 Mass audiences has led to the 'dumbing down' of content, there is actually less
consumer choice
 Increased social isolation. Virtuality and a loss of social capital
 real human networks of support in communities.
 Digital divide whereby those who don't have access to the mass media miss out,
creating global inequality.
Media, Politics and Culture

a. Media and Political Globalization

 Globalization has transformed world politics in profound ways; overthrow of
kingdoms & empires—creation of nation-state; now some argue that the nation-state
deteriorates as people & borders become more fluid.
 In our age of globalization, the entire world can be a war zone; numerous forces
compete for wealth & power within & across borders.
 Though media corporations are powerful political actors, individual journalists are
subject to brutal & intense intimidation as more actors contend for power (journalists
die in the line of duty & without justice=ultimate form of censorship)
 All these groups threatened by the work of a crusading reporter; all have targeted
reporters; thus, globalization has made the world a harrowing place for journalists.
 Media are subject to other pressures in this age of high-tech persuasion,
manipulation, & propaganda; economic, political & personal pressures shape the
news around the globe.
 The opposite hypothesis appears to be true: governments shape & manipulate the
news.
 Officials around the world are extremely successful at influencing the world &
molding the news so that it builds support for their domestic & foreign policies.

Globalization complicates but does not lessen political intimidation and control of
media.

b. Media and Popular Culture

 Media is a good carrier of culture.
 It generates numerous and on-going interactions.
 Globalization will bring about and increasing blending or mixture of culture.
 Circulation of cultural commodities such as music has been made possible due
to the current technologies of mediation (e.g. social media platforms).

Three outcomes/influences of globalization on culture according to Jan Nederveen Pieterse

(2004):
The relationship between media and glocalization

The concept of glocalization, by Robert Robertson, assumes that:

 media & globalization are facts of life in local cultures;

 local culture is not static & fixed; it is pliable & weak, awaiting or fearing contact from the
outside, it instead created & produced daily, drawing from, adapting, succumbing to,
satirizing, rejecting, or otherwise negotiating with the facts, global & local, of the day

 The local is built & understood anew each day in a globalized world (the global takes
local form: Asia’s/Pilipinas Got Talent, PBB, The Voice Philippines, Survivor Phils.,
Asia’s Top Model);

 globalization allows the intersections of cultures in ways & amounts unknown to other
areas; the emphasis on the negotiation of cultural forms at the local level is of theoretical
also methodological importance;

Our very understanding of local culture actually benefits from the long, historical lens
of globalization.
 An example of how a global food industry, Mc Donald’s, localizes its products
to cater to the taste buds of its people.

The concept of a global village:

McLuhan described the global village as a situation where all people worldwide would be more
connected through modern technologies. The global village definition implies that even when
people are not physically close, they can still connect, share experiences, and access the same
information through technologies, such as social media. Through these platforms, people can
express themselves and make an impact on any part of the world. The internet has also made it
easy for real-time communication. It has also enabled people to interact with one another,
inform others, share their views, and even form social groups with people far away from them.
This interconnectedness through technology is a major characteristic of a global village.

Global Imaginary: Transcending one’s nationality

The concept of “global imaginary,” as coined by Manfred

Steger, refers to the consciousness of belonging to a
global community – a consciousness that has emerged
in recent decades with the rapid rise of communication
technologies and the decline of nation-based political
ideologies. The concept builds on Benedict Anderson’s theories of “imagined communities,” but
while Anderson used the term to refer to shared ideologies within nations, Steger posits that
globalization is breaking down the imagined walls of nationhood and bringing about “a shared
sense of a thickening world community.” Steger insists that in order to understand and solve
the great global problems of our time, we must first understand the “global imaginary” and all
that it represents.
Global imaginary, in simpler terms refers to a growing consciousness of being a member of a
community aside from the one which one is born into. For instance, in answer to the question
“To which do you belong to?” the following may come to mind:
 a. Identity – tribal (ethnic) vs National – Ati or Filipino
b. Consumer habits – Local or imported – Jollibbe or McDonald’s
c. Information – local news or world sources – ABS-CBN or CNN
d. Social network – local community or Facebook – Barangay Clean and Green or
Decluttering Group in FB

Cosmopolitanism is now a feature of modern life; people imagine themselves as part

of the world.

Nations are the result of ‘imagined communities’; people will never meet face to face
with others but they can imagine themselves as one--in the minds of each lives the
image of their communion (Anderson, 1991)

The imagination is not a trifling fantasy but a ‘social fact’ & a staging ground for
action (Appadurai, 1996)

Imagined Communities
 "It is imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of
their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives
the image of their communion..." (Anderson, 6.)
 "Communities are to be distinguished, not by their falsity/genuineness, but by the style in
which they are imagined" (Anderson, 6.)

How this Concept Relates to Globalization

Globalization
 Symbols and cultural icons stretch across the boundaries of nations and create a shared
global landscape.
Social Imaginary
 In Globalization and Media by Jack Lule, he notes how philosopher, Cornelius
Castoriadis, mentions, " [social imaginary] gives people and society an understanding of
their place in the world."
 Offers meaning and gives a purpose for people's lives.

Section 2 GLOBALIZATION AND RELIGION

Learning Outcomes:
a. explain how globalization affects religious practices and beliefs;
b. analyze the relationship between religion and global conflict and, conversely, global
peace.
c. exhibit the value of unity amidst diversity.
Introduction: Globalization and Religion
Globalization in cultural phenomena occurs with different characteristics depending on the
specific area of culture involved. It is likely that globalization will occur in a different way in areas
decisively concerned with language, for example, national literature and scripts, from areas not
so crucially concerned, such as the artistic fields of music and dance. And the precise form
globalization will take in the case of religion is not yet clear. Regardless of the difficulties
involved in making specific predictions regarding the direction of coming change, cultural
globalization will share certain characteristics of other globalization processes, namely the
weakening or disappearance of borders between nations, societies, and ethnic groups, and
simultaneous unfolding of events on a global scale. And it must be added that the principle
according to which these things will unfold is that of competition in a free market.
When this vision of globalization is applied to religion, defined as a set of organized beliefs,
practices, and systems that most often relate to the belief and worship of a controlling
force, such as a personal god or another supernatural being, we can suggest that we will
see steady change from the conventional form of religion linked intimately to the histories and
cultures of respective nations and ethnic groups. Instead, the activities of individual religious
groups will take on the increasing characteristic of free competition on a global scale. Further,
there is also the possibility of witnessing great transformations in the traditional structure of the
historical religions.
The phenomenon of a religion's expanding without ties to a specific nation, society, or ethnic
group is not, in itself, new. Religion is fundamentally is endowed with just such powers of
survival. But what I wish to emphasize here is the fact that the concept of globalization concerns
the situation after the branches and sects of so-called "world religions" --- namely, Christianity,
Islam, and Buddhism --- have established their religio-cultural spheres throughout the world.
Everywhere in the world one can observe the deep connection between religion and the state or
ethnic group, and various religious structures --- together with the characteristics originally held
by the religion or sect --- have often undergone great transformations in the process of
developing within specific nations or ethnic groups. For example, the same Mahayana
Buddhism has developed substantially different social functions in the neighboring countries of
Korea and Japan. In this way, each region of the world can be defined by a distribution map of
its main religious groups, while at the same time, the religion within each nation and ethnic
group has come to possess its own unique characteristics.
In this context, the globalization of religion can be understood as a process of realignment in
this global religious situation, a process which involves the following three facets: First, it implies
the inevitable transformation of individual religious organizations; second, it can be expected
that new characteristics will be produced in the contents of doctrines, rituals, and practices;
and third, globalization will be accompanied by changes in the human beings supporting
religions, particularly in their intellectual perspectives.

Globalization and Religious Practices and Beliefs

A key feature of contemporary society, especially according to postmodernists, is the process of
globalization: how society has become more interconnected across the world, economically,
culturally and politically. This has had a number of effects on religion and belief.
Peter Beyer (1994) identified three key impacts of globalization on religion:
  Particularism – religion has increasingly been used as an avenue for anti-globalization
activity. While one feature of globalization is a sort of cultural homogenization (the
creation of a single, global popular culture) religion is often seen as the opposite of that:
a symbol of how people are culturally different from one another, rather than the same.
This has contributed to a rise in fundamentalism and is a feature of political conflict in
many areas of the world.
 Universalism – however there is also some evidence of the opposite trend. While small
fundamentalist groups might emphasize their difference from other people, the major
religions have increasingly focused on what unites them. Far from the feared clash of
civilizations (which will be returned to later) religious leaders emphasize shared values
and common concerns. Indeed, inter-faith dialogue through global communication has
helped to diffuse conflict between religions.
 Marginalization – Beyer also notes that religion is increasingly marginalized in
contemporary society, playing less part in public life, although this may well be a rather
Eurocentric view and may be caused by other social changes rather than globalization.
Another way in which globalization has impacted on religion is the way religions have made use
of global communications. Religious groups are able to take advantage of modern technology
to recruit new members, spread the word and keep in contact with other members of the
religion. While with some of the more fundamentalist, anti-modern, anti-global religious
organizations this can hold a certain irony, it is one of the ways in which religion is much less
linked to nationality than it once was.
Religious identity is much less attached to national identity than it once was. Most of the main
world religions are international in character and while some countries still have clear state
religions, it is certainly less a feature of national identity in the West than it used to be. However,
people do still sometimes refer to countries like the UK as “Christian countries”.
A significant exception is India. Meera Nanda (2008) argues that Hinduism is closely related to
Indian nationalism. In a survey 93% of Indians considered their culture “superior to others” and
increasingly Indian national identity and Hinduism are seen as effectively the same thing. In
other words, Hinduism has become what Bellah called a civil religion. Through the worship of
Hindu gods, Indians are worshipping India itself.
There were “World Religions” long before the process of globalization is thought to have begun.
Christianity, Islam and Judaism in particular have been present across many nations and
continents. However, some sociologists suggest that globalization has led to the rapid spread of
some religious organizations. David Martin (2002) points to the growth of Pentecostalism (a
Christian denomination) through the developing world. Martin contrasts Pentecostalism with
Catholicism. Martin argues that various features of Pentecostalism endear it to people in poorer
parts of the world in an era of globalization. First, people choose to join the church rather than
being born into it. Second, it is viewed (rightly or wrongly) as being on the side of the poor,
rather than being an enormously wealthy institution. Third, it is not associated with state or
government whereas the Catholic church is often closely connected to the state. Finally, it is
less hierarchical than the Catholic church. As such in areas where the Catholic church was once
dominant but is now stagnating and losing support, Pentecostalism is flourishing.
While Martin presents one way in which religious institutions themselves have responded to
globalisation, Giddens (1991) presents another which is becoming ever-more apparent in
contemporary society: fundamentalism.

Relationship between religion and global conflict and, conversely, global peace
n providing a basis for the present revival and resurgence of religion, globalization has played a
tremendous role. Even back then globalization has already helped religion, just like how the
Spaniards brought religion to our country is a cause of it. Today, communication technology
means of transport, and the media are considered to be essential means on which religious
believers rely on the spread of their religious ideas. TV channels, radio stations, social media,
and print media are now used by religious groups to advocate their religions. Transportation
helped a wide variation of religions to cross different countries and be everywhere. Even though
it has a positive effect, it has its bad sides. Religious people believe that because of
globalization and modernization their religion would be secularized and it will manipulate their
people’s belief in gods and damage the spiritual ways of life. As stated by them a superior
association that binds humanity directly to the divine or supernatural spiritual
being is membership in a religious community, organization, or cult. That’s why some religious
groups isolate themselves from society and create a haven for them. This is to lessen
distraction and also be far from the influence of globalization.
If we come to think of it, religion is not a major cause of global conflict and it somehow can help
to attain global peace. Religion is a personal collection of religious attitudes, values, and
behaviors, or an institutionalized structure. Its creation strengthened the laws of countries. It
created fear to us because it states that if we will ever make a sin, hell is the place where we
would go for eternity. Then with the help of globalization, the modern world actually
became more religious. It is the reason why Religions such as Catholicism, Islam, Judaism,
Hinduism, and Buddhism have become more critical and active. Not just only in the spiritual
aspect, it also has become a foundation of the modern republic. Countries like Malaysia
and Iran have Islam as their religion. Lastly, religion connects with its broken
traditional ties that are caused by constraints of a nation-state, with the help of globalization.
Muslims in the Middle East and Mindanao have coped with their economic circumstance.
Though also because of globalization of religion it created the ISIS or Islamic State in the Middle
East, which is a jihadist organization with a highly violent ideology, which asserts religious
authority over all Muslims and calls itself a caliphate. They are considered a terrorist
and even let their presences felt once in our country specifically in Zamboanga. History also
tells us that religion has been used by our occupiers which are Spain and the United States of
America so that they can present their colonization to us as a “calling” from God. There might be
a possibility that they might use that strategy again but it has a slight chance. From these we
can see that religion is not the main cause of conflict, but maybe it is used as a guise for their
hidden agenda.

Religion for Globalization

 “Old World Religions” see globalization less as an obstacle and more as an opportunity
to expand their reach all over the world
 Freed communities from the “constraints of the nation-state”

Religion against Globalization

 It opposes “profane” globalization

 Globalization threatens to destroy the cultural system that bind people together
 Muslim views globalization as a trojan horse hiding supporters at Western values like
secularism, liberalism, or even communism to displace Islam

Religious fundamentalism may dislike globalization's materialism, but it continuously uses “the
full range of modern mean of communication and organizations.”
  There is an evidence that institutional advocates of globalization could be responsive to
the “liberationist, moral critiques of economic globalization” coming from the religious

 “The preferential option for the poor” - a powerful message of mobilization but lacks
substance when it comes to working out a replacement system that can change the
poor's condition in concrete ways.

Some major take-aways:

 No major religion has been exempt from complicity in violent conflict. Yet we need to
beware of an almost universal propensity to oversimplify the role that religion plays in
international affairs. Religion is not usually the sole or even primary cause of conflict.
 With so much emphasis on religion as a source of conflict, the role of religion as a force
in peacemaking is usually overlooked.
 Religious affiliation and conviction often motivates religious communities to advocate
particular peace-related government policies. Religious communities also directly
oppose repression and promote peace and reconciliation.
 Religious leaders and institutions can mediate in conflict situations, serve as a
communication link between opposing sides, and provide training in peacemaking
methodologies. This form of religious peacemaking garners less public attention but is
growing in importance.
 Interfaith dialogue is another form of religious peacemaking. Rather than seeking to
resolve a particular conflict, it aims to defuse interfaith tensions that may cause future
conflict or derive from previous conflict. Interfaith dialogue is expanding even in places
where interreligious tensions are highest. Not infrequently, the most contentious
interfaith relationships can provide the context for the most meaningful and productive
exchanges.
 Given religion’s importance as both a source of international conflict and a resource for
peacemaking, it is regrettable that the U.S. government is so ill equipped to handle
religious issues and relate to religious actors. If the U.S. government is to insert itself
into international conflicts or build deeper and more productive relationships with
countries around the world, it needs to devise a better strategy to effectively and
respectfully engage with the religious realm.
In recent decades, religion has assumed unusual prominence in international affairs. A recent
article in The Economist asserts that, if there ever was a global drift toward secularism, it has
been halted and probably reversed. In the article, Philip Jenkins, a noted scholar from
Pennsylvania State University, predicts that when historians look back at this century they will
see religion as "the prime animating and destructive force in human affairs, guiding attitudes to
political liberty and obligation, concepts of nationhood and, of course, conflicts and wars." The
article then cites statistics from a public opinion survey in Nigeria demonstrating that Nigerians
believe religion to be more central to their identity than nationality. Nigerians are thus more likely
to identify themselves first and foremost as Christians or Muslims rather than as Nigerians. The
horrendous events of September 11, the conflagration in Iraq, and the aggressive assertiveness
of quasi-theocratic Iran only confirm in the popular mind that religion lies behind much of
contemporary international conflict.
References:

 Claudio, Lisandro E., Abinales, Particio N. (2018) The Contemporary World Edition 1 C
& E Publishing, Inc.
 Claudio, Lisandro (2017). Globalization
 Lule, Jack, (2015) Globalization and the Global Village
 https://www.e-ir.info/2014/07/16/religion-and-globalization-new-possibilities-furthering-
challenges/
 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
275476879_Book_review_Globalization_and_media_Global_village_of_Babel